Branding: It's All About DIFFERENTIATION

Fund-House Ventures, LLC

In Branding, the old adage "Different is better than better", could never be more wise than in today's business environment.  With the fierce level of competition we're experiencing simply being better than others does not create a sustainable competitive advantage and lasting brand equity. When competition is high, strengths matter less and differences matter more.

Differences grab attention. Differences invoke a response. Differences generate buzz.

To build a great brand you must focus on being different, but that difference must make a difference. Great brands are built on meaningful differentiation, and to be meaningful your differentiation needs to be:

Polarizing: Your brand does not need to please everyone, but to engage your target market really well. If your difference appeals to everyone, than it's probably not all that different. When your brand is truly different some people will hate your brand and others love it. And those that love it will buy it over and over again and pay a premium for it, extol it, and value it - you can't do that by promoting a difference with mainstream appeal.

Transcendent: Meaningful and lasting differentiation is rarely achieved with a new feature, technology, a one-off 'er'.  Everything is copied in the world we live in - all products, all services, the only thing that can't be copied is your Brand. You need to differentiate on purposes, values, personality.  These create an emotional connection and are almost impossible to imitate.

Substantive: Your brand's difference, its distinctiveness must be substantive and valuable. Today's consumer can see through most marketing ploys. So, your difference can't be only what you say, it must be what you do and what you are. You must be relevant, authentic, reliable, and trustworthy - if you have to tell consumers you are different, you're probably not.

Jim Lavorato
Principal
Fund-House Ventures, LLC
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